. one month to go before the presidential elections, and both candidates are trying to fire up their supporters. >> we cannot afford to be complacent and we cannot afford to be cynical. >> i'll bring us back. i will get us back on track. i will keep america strong with strong values and strong homes. sandusky speaks. disgraced football coach jerry sandusky proclaims his innocence as a judge prepares to sentence him for sexually abusing children. >> in my heart, i know i did not do these alleged disgusting acts. and spreading outbreak. a ninth death is reported in the meningitis outbreak. health officials say thousands of people may have been exposed to the disease. captioning funded by cbs

good morning, everybody. good to be with you. mitt romney continues tone joy a polling boost from his strong debate performance. the obama campaign reveals a new ad today. both candidates head to the heartland. tara is in washington with more on all of this. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. negative ads were blanketing the airwaves in those key swing states, including one featuring big bird, which ridicules mitt romney after he said it's not worth borough money from china to fund, among other things, pbs. today both candidates are back out there burning up the campaign trail. president obama is urging supporters to get almost obsessive about his re-election. >> so i need you in this

election the next 29 days. we cannot afford to be complacent. >> reporter: the president wrapped up a california fundraising blitz in san francisco. he asked donors to send e-mails and make phone calls to people in swing states who will decide the election. >> we have to understand that we've got a lot more to do, and if we don't do it, then change won't happen. >> reporter: republican nominee mitt romney heads to middle america today for more campaign rallies. last week's debate re-energized his campaign, and now he has the numbers to prove it. in a pew research center poll last month, romney trailed president obama by eight points, 51% to 43%. but a new poll taken after the presidential debate last week shows him ahead now by four points, 49% to 45%. >> and people wonder why it is i'm so confident we're going to win. i'm confident because i see you here on a day like this, this is

unbelievable, thank you so much. >> reporter: romney campaigned in the pouring rain monday in virginia, asking for votes and slamming the president's record. >> he plans on four more years like the last four years, i don't think we can afford four more years like the last four years. >> reporter: both romney and president obama will campaign in ohio today, a key battleground state that many believe could make or break victory for either candidate. and there are 18 electoral votes up for grabs in ohio. early voting is already under way. >> here we go. tara, thank you so much. controlling the deficit is one of the key issues of campaign 2012. this week, a group of bipartisan senators is meeting in virginia to try to keep the nation from falling off the so called fiscal cliff. the group of eight senators, four republicans and four democrats, is expected to meet for three days to try and reach a deficit reduction proposal that's acceptable to congress and the president. the fiscal cliff refers to budget control measures scheduled to take effect at year's end, including tax

increases and spending cuts. today attack now on the u.s. consulate in libya. one of the men responsible for u.s. diplomats in libya said he knew there were security issues there long before the deadly attack in benghazi. he's scheduled to testify tomorrow. sheryl atkinson has his story. >> reporter: lieutenant colonel andrew wood last set foot in libya in february to elite a security team with expertise in counterterrorism. from the moment he arrived, he says he saw chaos. >> shooting instances occurred. many instances involving the local security guard force that we were training there. constantly there was battles going on between militias. >> reporter: wood met daily with ambassador christopher stevens to discuss security. was he concerned about security? >> he was. he was constantly concerned about the threats to not just himself, but the entire staff there. >> reporter: was there what you saw as a visible security

drawdown during the period of time you were in libya? >> yes. and it began just shortly after i arrived. there was pressure to reduce the number of security people there. >> reporter: pressure from where? >> higher headquarters at state department. >> reporter: over six months leading up to the attack on ambassador stevens, woods says the security situation in libya deteriorated. there were 13 threats or attacks in tripoli and benghazi. wood says ambassador stevens and his staff made the case for tightened security in e-mails and diplomatic cables, but one by one, lost three state department security teams, their only airplane and eventually woods' squad, too. did ambassador stevens or the regional security officer fight losing another team? >> yes. >> reporter: do you feel like there was a disconnect between what you saw on the ground and what the state department folks in washington thought was going on in libya? >> there was certainly no disconnect in our transfer of information to them. they were getting the information on the situation on

the ground. >> reporter: how did you get the word that your team would not be allowed to stay? >> we knew that was coming through the cables and the draft cables that were going back and forth. the requests were being modified to say don't even request for dod support. >> reporter: so state department was telling the folks on the ground in libya don't continue to ask for this help? >> correct. >> reporter: woods says in his opinion some of the security teams would have been in benghazi on september 11 to help the state department bodyguards if they had been allowed to remain in libya. does part of you wonder if the security request had been granted, those deaths could have been avoided? >> yes. yes, i do. i think about that. i spend a lot of time thinking about that. >> the state department tells cbs news that the withdrawal of the security support team from libya had "no impact whatsoever on the total number of fully trained american security personnel in libya overall or in

benghazi specifically." the suspected mexican drug king pen that led to the murder of david hartley has been captured. he was shot in the head and fell in the water. escobedo was arrested on several crimes. hartley's wife says she wants information, including information about her husband's remains. jerry sandusky convicted of molesting ten boys will be sentenced this morning. sandusky and several of his victims plan to speak at that hearing. last night, sandusky released a statement that aired on a pennsylvania radio station. randall pinkston reports. >> reporter: jerry sandusky is speaking out from his jail cell on the eve of his sentencing. >> they can treat me as a monster, but they can't take away my heart. in my heart, i know i did not do

these disgusting acts. >> reporter: he recorded a three-minute statement aired on the penn state radio station. sandusky was convicted on 45 child sex charges but he insists he did nothing wrong. >> the young man was a dramatic veteran accuser, started everything. he was joined by a well orchestrated effort of the media, the system, penn state, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. they won. >> reporter: sandusky said the court system did not give his legal team adequate time to mount a defense. he's expected to say much of the same when he speaks in court tuesday. >> he wants to let everybody know that he still maintains his innocence and that he's going to fight for a new trial. >> reporter: but sandusky won't be the only voice in court. several of sandusky's victims are expected to make statements at his sentencing hearing, including the young man known as victim number five. >> my client knows what happened in that shower back in 2001.

>> reporter: sandusky faces a maximum of 442 years in prison and is expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars. he says he plans to appeal. randall pinkston, cbs news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. coming up, an update on the meningitis outbreak. it may have claimed another life overnight as the number of potential victims grows to thousands. and later, free fall record. an extreme sky driver gets set for a 23-mile-high leap. crazy, huh? this is the "morning news." u. that's why i'm knocking things off my to-do list. vitamin d, done! hand sanitizer, done! hey, eric! i'm here for my flu shot. sorry, didn't make an appointment. well, you don't need one. whether it's flu shots or prescriptions, we continue to accept express scripts and medco plans. i'm bonnie, and this is my cvs.

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the meningitis outbreak may have claimed its ninth victim. the cdc reports that the con stam nated steroid shots may have been given to 13,000 people in 23 states. it's one of nine state where is the disease has been reported, in tennessee. federal health officials say so far 105 people have been sickened by the outbreak. public health officials are

trying to reach people who may have been injected by the contaminated shots. >> whether each and every vile was contaminated is not known. but certainly now we have an ineasing number of patients who are being reported as having this fungal meningitis. >> the outbreak has been linked to a specialty pharmacy in massachusetts. the nobel prize in medicine has been awarded to two scientists for their ground breaking stem cell research. the announcement was made yesterday that they will share the award. they discovered that stem cells can be used as so called blank slates to eventually regrow tissue from brains, hearts, and other organs. a soda machine that will help you count your calories. ashley morrison now in new york with that. >> security in athens is tight this morning as german chancellor angela merkel visits for talks with greek's prime

minister. protesters are upset over the strict austerity measures the government has put in place in order to secure a bailout. the biggest contributor to the greek rescue fund is germany. on monday, merkel said she will remind greece of europe's expectations towards economic reforms. markets in asia had a mixed day. tokyo's nikkei lost 1% while hong kong's hang seng gained half a percent. earnings season gets under way on wall street today. forecasts show cporate earnings will be weak and that led to a down day for investors. the dow slipped 26 points while the nasdaq was down 23. gas prices in california hit another all-time high on monday. the average price for a gallon of regular reached $4.67. analysts say the spike in prices is driven by disruptions at two refineries. drivers could see prices start to drop now that california's governor has ordered the early

release of winter blend fuel. general motors is planning to hire up to 10,000 new workers here in the u.s. gm will be looking for software programmers to develop applications and devices to put into its vehicles. the car maker will open new tech centers in austin, texas, and a detroit suburb along with two other locations. american express and walmart are teaming up to bring shoppers a prepaid card. bluebird acts like a checking account, but with no minimum balance or monthly or annual fees, users can add funds through direct deposit by taking a picture of a check or at any walmart register. the card can be used anywhere that accepts american express. and soda drinkers will have a little bit more to think about when they hit the vending machine. three of the leading soft drink companies will start rolling out vending machines that display calorie counts next year. the machines will also remind consumers to consider lower calorie drinks. the new machines will launch in

chicago and san antonio before going out nationally. they just keep shaming us! >> i know. don't you think i already know that i shouldn't have my third soda. >> of course we do. but it's denial and suppression that we're working with. >> ignorance is bliss is what i say. ashley morrison here in new york. appreciate it. thank you so much. coming up, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, an acrobatic play at the plate as the yankees battle the orioles in game 2. so ditch the brown bag for something better. like our bacon ranch quesadillas or big mouth burger bites, served with soup or salad, and fries. starting at just 6 bucks, at chili's.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. occasional rain in new york, 60. showers in miami, 88. sun and clouds in los angeles, 74. let's check your national forecast. an offshore storm brings rain up the east coast to maine. a cold front swings through the great lakes region. it will be dry in the west and south except for a few showers and thunderstorms in southern florida. in sports this morning, the orioles put the heat back on the yankees in the american league division series. at first, what a move at home by ichi ichi ichiro. in the third, chris davis with a rocket to right to tie the series. alan craig goes solo hitting one deep to left. carlos beltran hit two monster

blasts. the third time he's homered twice in the postseason. the cardinals even the national league division series at one game each. in football, the jets made a game of it against the texans. matt schaub it look easy on the first drive, tossing a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide open daniels. mark sanchez came back with a score. joe mcknight electry if ied the crowd, grabbing the kickoff, cutting down the sidelines, racing 100 yards for the score. not enough, though. the texans hang on to beat the jets 23-17 to remain undefeated. the world's fastest man and self-proclaimed living legend will be running in rio going for an olympic three-peat. usain bolt says he's going to race in the 2016 rio de janeiro games. in london this summer he became the first man to one the 100 and 200 meter sprints in

back-to-back olympic games. miranda ferguson went on a flipping frenzy friday night, doing a record-breaking 35 backhand sprints. i could never do this. would have broken my neck. took her about a year of practice, but she beat the old record by three. more power to her. when we come back, super sonic dive. a daredevil attempts a giant pand his attempt to break the record for the highest free fall.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., mostly cloudy, 61. clouds then sun in atlanta, 69. in st. louis, 71. sunny in denver. partly sunny in seattle, 66 degrees. here we go.

talk about a leap of faith. an extreme sky driver hopes to get into the record book take. felix balm garner will lift off wearing a special pressurized space suit and jump out of a capsule 23 miles above the earth. he can come down so fast he could become the first person outside of an airplane to break the sound barrier. nasa and the air force will monitor today's jump. actors danny devito and rhea pearl man are splitting up after 32 years of children. they were together on the sitcom "taxi" back in 1978. perlman is best known for playing carla on "cheers." devito currently stars in the comedy "it's always sunny in philadelphia." in london, no love lost between a stag and a man who drifted just a little too close to the herd. it appeared the man didn't know it was mating season, sparking the large animal's anger. it chased the fellow around the

tree and he figured he better get up the tree. the stag was not playing. i'm terrell brown. this is "cbs morning news." [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart.

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. good more. welcome to 9news now. today is tuesday, october 9. it's buddy check 9 today. good morning. i'm andrea roane. it's the 19th anniversary of buddy check 9 day. we're all in pink. good morning. i'm mike hydeck. good morning, monika samtani.

looks great. andrea has been doing hard work for two decades. >> that sounds old. >> not quite two decades. congratulations and thanks for everything you do. >> you're welcome. let's talk about what's happening weather wise. it's a little damp this tuesday morning. >> chilly, too. >> temperatures back in the 40s. we have light rain showers going o. they shouldn't be around -- on. they shouldn't are around all that long. more sunshine this afternoon with a high around 60 degrees. certainly jacket weather, something to keep you a little bit dry. we've had the southwesterly flow during the overnight. that's what's been persisting with the showers right over the metro. north and west of town it's been much quieter. we're seeing -- by the way, this is cloud clutter around leesburg but upper down to areas of -- but upper montgomery county to areas in prince william, southern prince george's county, we have light

showers that are persisting. it is a cool morning. your temperatures 52 on the bay. that's the warm spot. we're 48 in town with low 40s in the shenandoah valley. i'd be wearing gloves if i were outside but that's just me going up to about 60. let's check in with monika at 4:27. she has timesaver traffic. good morning, everybody. wet road conditions means you want to keep your speed limits down and there's also some construction outside as well. namely on the northbound side of i-95 leaving thornburg into spotsylvania. there is construction there. once beyond that, you're okay triangle into woodbridge. we'll take a live look outside and show you what it looks like first here in spring field. again roads are wet and volumes already beginning to thicken right here as you prepare the beltway and heading up to 395. let's go back over to the maps this time on 270 southbound where the lanes are open. things are looking great out of frederick down to the point where the lanes divide. we'll take a live look on the beltway over at kenilworth avenue. wet roads on the beltway as you

go up towards silver spring. keep your speed limits down but the lanes are open. i'll be back with more traffic coming up at 4:39. >> thank you, monika. former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is scheduled to be sentenced today. sandusky still says he is innocent of the child sex abuse. >> yesterday he called a pennsylvania radio station to publicly claim his innocence and announce his plans for an appeal. randall pinkston has more from bellfont park pa. >> they can take away my life. make me out as a monster and treat me but they can't take away my heart. in my heart i know i did not do these alleged disgusting acts. >> reporter: the 68-year-old former assistant football coach recorded a three-minute statement. he was convicted on 45 child sex charges but he insists he did nothing wrong. >> a young man who was

dramatic, veteran accuser and always sought attention started everything. he was joined by a well orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, penn state, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. they won. >> reporter: sandusky says the court system did not give his legal time adequate time to mount a defense. he's expected to say much of the same when he speaks in court tuesday. >> he wants to let everybody know that he still maintains his innocence and he's going to fight for a new trial. >> reporter: but sandusky won't be the only voice in court. >> up to half a dozen of his victims are expected in court tomorrow to make statements at his sentencing hearings. among them victim number five. >> my client knows what happened in that shower back in 2001. >> reporter: sandusky faces a maximum of 442 years in prison and is expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars of he says he plans to appeal. randall pinkston, cbs ,